Bob Weir

In an interview last October, one of the leaders of the world's most popular rock band said the Grateful Dead's long, strange trip from hippies to millionaires was winding down. "We`ve been running on inertia for quite a long time," Jerry Garcia told Rolling Stone magazine. The band members, he added, needed "to construct new enthusiasm for ourselves, because we`re getting a little burned out." Many Deadheads concluded that Garcia wanted out. But in an interview in Chicago a few days ago, the band's...

The Grateful Dead has been buried and resurrected many times in the last 15 years. Still reeling from the death of its spiritual force and lead guitarist, Jerry Garcia, in 1995, the band has never really gone away, but it has never really been the same. Yet on Monday, in the first of two concerts at the Allstate Arena, the reconstituted (and no longer Grateful) Dead -- with four surviving members from its legendary '60s incarnation -- sounded surprisingly spry before a near-capacity...

Bob Weir and Ratdog Evening Moods (Arista) Former Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir eases into the 10 tracks on "Evening Moods," a series of rambling-man tales told from hotel rooms, dusty detours and the inevitable crossroads. The relaxed atmosphere plays to Weir's strengths -- the interplay of a jazz band built on bluesy vocal inflections and chord progressions -- without challenging him. The production is awfully slick, the tempos never break a sweat, and Fans will...

The Dead: Don't kid yourself, it's not the same without Jerry Garcia. But the addition of guitarist Warren Haynes, a relative youngster with fire in his belly, should keep these grizzled pros from merely coasting on their reputation and hoping the fans are giddy enough not to notice. As reunions go, the payday still matters, but here's hoping the Dead's original core of Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann also channels some of the transcendent mischief that once made them special.

In reply to letter writer Bob Weir regarding Hillary Clinton being gullible by not believing the Lewinsky affair: It's not that Clinton was being gullible, it's called being committed to her vows--for better or worse. Innocent until proven guilty. And she still has the character to hang in there. Take a lesson in this humanism.

He was a psychedelic cowboy who rode the bus with Ken Kesey and took virtually every step of the long, strange trip with the Grateful Dead. Known solely as Ramrod, he died Tuesday of lung cancer in Petaluma, Calif. He was 61. "He was our rock," said guitarist Bob Weir. Born Lawrence Shurtliff, he was raised a country boy in eastern Oregon and once won a county fair blue ribbon in cattle judging. He got the name Ramrod from Kesey while he was traveling through Mexico with the author and LSD evangelist, at...

There will be life after the Dead, after all. The Grateful Dead's name was just retired by surviving band members, but three of those members--guitarist/singer Bob Weir, percussionist Mickey Hart and keyboardist Vince Welnick--will carry on the tradition by booking a festival-style tour featuring their own groups and special guests. The title of the festival--aiming to play amphitheaters this summer--could be "Deadapalooza" or "Ship of Fools," Dead spokesman Dennis McNally said.

In reply to letter writer Bob Weir regarding Hillary Clinton being gullible by not believing the Lewinsky affair: It's not that Clinton was being gullible, it's called being committed to her vows--for better or worse. Innocent until proven guilty. And she still has the character to hang in there. Take a lesson in this humanism.

Bob Weir lists the essential Grateful Dead songs: "I`d have to choose one of the blues tunes and one of the country numbers that we cover, because those are our roots. " `Tennessee Jed` is a real good, finite example of a Grateful Dead song, with a fairly rigid structure but still plenty of room within it to play around. " `Uncle John's Band` is a little more open, because it will often evolve into something else before returning to the original theme. " `Playing in the Band` is more...

Just as in their previous incarnation as the Grateful Dead, the Other Ones saunter on stage and begin to play as though picking up a conversation with an old friend, the musicians bantering for a few moments until a song emerges. The Other Ones are indeed renewing old acquaintances, not just with one another but with an audience that has been coming to see its principal members--guitarist Bob Weir, bassist Phil Lesh and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann--for nearly...

Grateful Dead Built to Last (Arista) (STAR)(STAR) 1/2 To follow the surprising platinum success of the Grateful Dead's "In the Dark," singer-guitarist Jerry Garcia spent extra time in the studio mixing "Built to Last," moving its release date back five times while searching for what he called a "more accessible sound." Consequently, "Built to Last" is a smooth effort, featuring keyboardist Brent Mydland's vocals-instead of Garcia's-and building on the...

Grateful Dead fans have a thirst for minutiae of the band's work that is surpassed only by that of the most diehard baseball fanatics. Most Deadheads are content to accumulate tapes, discuss set lists, and maybe play a few of the band's tunes. The members of the Dark Star Orchestra have taken this obsession to an extreme, performing a different Dead concert in its entirety for each of their performances. What began three years ago at Martyr's as an experiment among several members of...

What can fans expect when they go to see The Other Ones, featuring Grateful Dead alumni Phil Lesh, Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, at the New World Music Theatre on Thursday? "It's more consistent than the (Dead) was in 1994 and 1995," said Dead publicist Dennis McNally. "Jerry (Garcia) was not well; he was physically run down. And that generated a lot of frustration for everybody. When you're watching your brother droop and you know this can't have a good ending, how can you play great?"

Bob Weir and Ratdog Evening Moods (Arista) Former Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir eases into the 10 tracks on "Evening Moods," a series of rambling-man tales told from hotel rooms, dusty detours and the inevitable crossroads. The relaxed atmosphere plays to Weir's strengths -- the interplay of a jazz band built on bluesy vocal inflections and chord progressions -- without challenging him. The production is awfully slick, the tempos never break a sweat, and Fans will...

If it's not a Grateful Dead reunion, it's awfully close. Three of the band's four surviving members--Mickey Hart, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir--say they will tour the United States this summer in the "Further Festival." They are part of a group calling itself The Other Ones, after a Dead song. It will be the first time the three have performed together since 1995, when Dead leader Jerry Garcia died. Drummer Bill Kreutzmann declined because he did not want to tour. There never was any...

Ten years ago, Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir started performing in a duo with stand-up bassist Rob Wasserman between Dead tours. Over the years, the pair added players, and the ensemble, which came to be known as Ratdog, became a fulltime touring aggregation when the Dead called it quits in 1995. Ratdog has struggled to find an identity, as Weir and Wasserman tinkered to find the right mix of players. The current ensemble represents the most cohesive, and the most interesting, of the group's lineups.

The Dead: Don't kid yourself, it's not the same without Jerry Garcia. But the addition of guitarist Warren Haynes, a relative youngster with fire in his belly, should keep these grizzled pros from merely coasting on their reputation and hoping the fans are giddy enough not to notice. As reunions go, the payday still matters, but here's hoping the Dead's original core of Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann also channels some of the transcendent mischief that once made them special.

What can fans expect when they go to see The Other Ones, featuring Grateful Dead alumni Phil Lesh, Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, at the New World Music Theatre on Thursday? "It's more consistent than the (Dead) was in 1994 and 1995," said Dead publicist Dennis McNally. "Jerry (Garcia) was not well; he was physically run down. And that generated a lot of frustration for everybody. When you're watching your brother droop and you know this can't have a good ending, how can you play great?"

By Steve Morse, Boston Globe. David Silverman contributed to this report | July 13, 1989

Leave nothing but your footprints. In the same earthy style that first drew a cult following and has recently exploded into a pop culture phenomenon, the Grateful Dead are trying to control a new generation of Dead Heads who caravan behind them on their cross-country tours. Reacting to police and commmunity concerns near outdoor venues across the country, the Dead are sending out a simple message: If you don`t have a ticket, please don`t show up at the show. When you leave, leave nothing but your...

If it's not a Grateful Dead reunion, it's awfully close. Three of the band's four surviving members--Mickey Hart, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir--say they will tour the United States this summer in the "Further Festival." They are part of a group calling itself The Other Ones, after a Dead song. It will be the first time the three have performed together since 1995, when Dead leader Jerry Garcia died. Drummer Bill Kreutzmann declined because he did not want to tour. There never was any...